I don't want to defend the middle east at all, but I think its worth noting Europeans did exceedingly grotesque things based on religion for most of their history. It's too bad our brothers on the equator haven't progressed but history suggests that blood feuds and violent rhetoric are sort of the default. As to why countries in the Middle east aren't progressing in social policy, consider the fact that Pakistan, for instance, has roughly 2/3 of the USA's population but about 1% of its GDP.